Hubbart’s impending release will be outside of Palmdale

October 25, 2013 8:14 PM

Christopher Hubbart, a former Claremont resident who has admitted to raping over 40 women known by some as “the pillowcase rapist,” will be released in the community of Lake Los Angeles, near Palmdale, after spending nearly 30 years in prison and state mental hospitals, officials confirm. His release is expected as soon as December.

Claremont City Manager Tony Ramos received the information from Los Angeles County officials Friday morning. Though Mr. Hubbart no longer has any connections to the city of Claremont, city administrators filed a letter of opposition with the county in July and have been actively fighting against Mr. Hubbart’s release since that time.

News that Mr. Hubbart will not be released anywhere near Claremont has done little to ease concerns.

“We are pleased that Mr. Hubbart will not be released anywhere near Claremont, however, it is unfortunate that he is being released at all with his criminal record,” Mr. Ramos said. “He still poses a threat to any community he is being released to.”

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Gilbert T. Brown last May determined Mr. Hubbart’s ability to pass a psychological exam meant he “would not be a danger to others due to his diagnosed mental disorder while under the supervision and treatment in the community." The convicted rapist has failed previous psychological exams.

The news of Mr. Hubbart’s impending release caused uproar across the county, prompting the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office to file a writ with the Sixth District Court of Appeals. The writ was denied in July. Ms. Lacey then turned to the Supreme Court, which also denied the appeal.

Mr. Hubbart—who has been described by a state official as “uncontrollably compulsive”—was first arrested in 1972 in connection with a series of rapes in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. In 1982, Mr. Hubbart returned to confinement, convicted of rape with force, oral copulation with force and five counts of burglary.

Roughly two weeks after his parole, he returned to Vacaville in 1990 for false imprisonment. His parole was again cut short a few years later when he failed a routine psychological exam. He has remained in prison since 1994, repeatedly failing psychological examinations. But after completing another treatment program last year, Mr. Hubbart was able to pass the test and has asked to be released.

Mr. Hubbart’s release from Coalinga State Hospital to the high desert community is conditional upon 24-hour surveillance with a GPS ankle bracelet, and random drug and polygraph tests as well as a strict curfew, according to the release terms. Lake Los Angeles is located in an unincorporated are of Los Angeles County and not within the jurisdiction of Palmdale police.